Life Changes... step 3

hey everyone. My name is Rick and I am originally from Bothell, WA, but I've been in and around the Memphis area (mostly) since 92. Let me appologize in advance, this is gonna be long

The thread title says "step 3" because I am preparing to enter the third stage of my "stay alive long enought to have grandkids and see my youngest daughter graduate HS if not college" plan. June of this year I topped the scale at 278 lbs. I remember moments of 280+, but since this is where we started, 278 it is. Since I am 5' 8-9" (depending on my mood, hehe), I definitely fall into the "clydesdale" category. I also turned 40 this year, so... yeah. Throw in diabetes and high blood pressure and I'm a heart attack/stroke waiting to happen.

SO, my wife and I embarked on a 6-week challenge making small diet and exercise changes in our lifestyle. Long story short, after the 6 weeks, plus an extra week of vacation (6 Flags over Dallas ROCKS!), I was down 4 lbs and 3.25 inches. All we did the first set was to introduce a mandatory amount of water (32oz-4 cups), a mandatory amount of exercise (dealer's choice, but at least 10 mins for 3 days needing 75 mins total), and a minor diet change (2 servings of fruit OR veg every day). I chose walking as my exercise, since my bowflex is buried in the garage. I also went one step further, and completely cut caffeine from my diet.

I've continued the steps taken so far, and increased them. Water is still 32oz, but I drink 96+oz on days I work and a minimum of 48 on days off. I've changed diet to include 2-3 serving of fruit AND veg. Exercise is now 4 days for 100 minutes and I've extended the distance I walk and have added running (more like "fat boy shuffle") to the end. Every day I'm out, I add just a little bit more running by starting my run farther from my stopping point. If I don't make it, I try again until I do. Step 2 should end early next year with the goal of completing a 5K without walking.

The goal for step 3 is to complete a duathlon, which is where the biking comes in. I'm here to do my research, and when the time is right, replace my mountain bike with something more appropriate. Sorry, but there's no mountains in Memphis, lol!

Bear with me a bit more.... Another idea I've run past the wife, is for me to get my hands on a 3-4wheeled bike, and have a trailer I can pull my 3 daughter in (that's my snag so far) for weekend trail rides on the lovely "Rails to Trails" conversions they've done here. I've also heard they're banging around an idea to connect West Memphis, AR with Memphis via trail using the old car bridge under the RR bridge. THAT would be a cool ride!

Thanks for bearing with my long-typedness I really hope y'all didn't go all on me.

First, I'm just an old guy trying to get better. Sound like to me your on the right track. Defiantly go for the road or city bike. You can burn a lot of calories in 100 minutes. Also check out my fitness pay http://www.myfitnesspay.com. A great way to track calories and exercise. Note, MFP give high number for exercise, my Garmin is always lower.

I have NEVER regretted going on a ride;
I have often regretted not going when I could have!

Welcome to the forums, Rick. I'm not against tricycles but for bike path riding I highly recommend just getting a regular Hybrid or city/trail bike to start out unless of course you have a problem balancing a 2-wheeler? You can hook up a trailer to pretty much any bike to taxi your kids around until they are old enough to start riding with you,then you can use it for runs to the grocery store or a cooler to take a family ride to a park for a picnic. When/if you find yourself really liking this sport and/or wanting to get faster/stronger after the weight loss, you can upgrade it for a road bike (more performance based).

Welcome to BF from another Clyde--formerly 290, now 235ish and hoping for 220ish(?). Just a personal thought/experience, but... forget running and go with cycling/swimming/walking. Believe me--your knees and hips will thank you for that move if that's the course you choose to follow. On dumping your MTB -- why? If it works OK and you're capable of riding it, do so. Go with experimentation, trial and error to determine what you need to and have to spend your $$ on instead of just spending it without knowing whether or not you really need to spend it. But... good luck and best wishes with whatever you do.

A little clarification: I'm going to ride my mountain bike to start and move to a road bike when I find/can afford what I want. The trike/quad idea is for slow family rides on weekends to spend family time. My girls are still so young they'd not be able to ride for long.

Congratulations on starting to make a life change. The effort you put in now will pay off exponentially later in life.

After reading your post, here's a couple thoughts:

1. For the time being, try different tires on your MTB. You might be pleasantly surprised how smooth and fun that bike becomes with some 26x1.5 slick tires.

2. I 2nd Sammyj on using the www.myfitnesspal.com and phone application recommendation. While you are taking the right steps to a healthier lifestyle, your body will only be as good as what and how much you put in it. Tracking calories is not always fun but it does lay out realistic values and results. By tracking your daily caloric intake and exercise, you should easily be able to lose a pound or two on a weekly basis.

I don't mean to sound like a jerk but it seems that by drinking more water, cutting out caffeine and adding exercise, you might be skirting around the issue of what and how much you are eating. In all honesty, the caffeine (as in black coffee) will be better for you (kick start your metabolism) than the sugars in caffeine free soda or juice. I am just giving you some observations from my experience with trying to lose weight.

No matter what, you have come to the right place. The people here are helpful and will encourage your success.

PS- If you ever come back to Bothell, I would be happy to ride the Sammamish trail with ya.

Rick,
1. For the time being, try different tires on your MTB. You might be pleasantly surprised how smooth and fun that bike becomes with some 26x1.5 slick tires.

I thought of this last night. I don't know why I didn't consider this before since I know what a Hybrid is. *facepalm* and actually the heavier mountian frame will make me work harder for speed...

Originally Posted by clarkbre

2. I 2nd Sammyj on using the www.myfitnesspal.com and phone application recommendation. While you are taking the right steps to a healthier lifestyle, your body will only be as good as what and how much you put in it. Tracking calories is not always fun but it does lay out realistic values and results. By tracking your daily caloric intake and exercise, you should easily be able to lose a pound or two on a weekly basis.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk but it seems that by drinking more water, cutting out caffeine and adding exercise, you might be skirting around the issue of what and how much you are eating. In all honesty, the caffeine (as in black coffee) will be better for you (kick start your metabolism) than the sugars in caffeine free soda or juice. I am just giving you some observations from my experience with trying to lose weight.

I will definitely look into the phone app side of things. The only full PC I have access to is here at work, and I'm not supposed to be doing what I am doing at this precise moment. You are not coming off as a jerk, you are only attempting to pass off what you have learned over time, and what I am now rediscovering. There is a reason I killed off caffeine, the soft drinks just happened to go along for the ride. I am one of those weird people that will go to sleep on caffeine. Give me a 5 hour energy, and I am snoring like a baby in 5 minutes, lol! I went in for day surgery, and I was given Valium to make me relax... nope! I was bouncing off the walls and freaking out. We were a fast food family. When I cooked it was generally mac-n-cheese, helpers, etc... Now that we've forced fruits and veg into our diest, I've noticed that we are making better decisions in our shopping, and I actually have a menu planned out. Between last week and this week we've eaten out once, and that was because we got caught away from home later than expected. I'm also cooking real food, and not boxed food. For example, tonight is Spaghetti night. Not the healthiest, I know. but we're using whole wheat pasta, I made the sauce myself this weekend and there's salad that must be finished first. baby steps, but good ones

Originally Posted by clarkbre

PS- If you ever come back to Bothell, I would be happy to ride the Sammamish trail with ya.

I'll take you up on that. I used to ride from 228th St (Nike Hill between Canyon Park and my house) to the Jack in the Box in Kenmore for work.

I also use myfitnesspal to track my food intake. I downloaded the app "runtastic", it will track your walking, cycling, or other exercise and automatically sync it with your myfitnesspal food application to show the net calories for the day.

So very much good info here. Sit back and do some searching, and feel free to ask anything. I actually think this might be the friendliest corner of the internet.

A few things to add / clarify:

1. Almost everyone here gets it. For me, having my daughter and getting over so many issues made me realize it wasn't about me anymore, and the clock was ticking.
2. MTB with slicks will do you well for a while, and give you a sense of how much you enjoy cycling. It's an amazing sport.
3. with kids, especially on MUPs, I recommend those trailer thingies. Much safer than child seats, and more workout for you.
4. Completely agree on not running yet. Your muscle tone is not where it need to be to support the impact your weight brings. Walk, hike, bike, swim. Then go for short jogs when you're 6 months or so in. By way of an anecdote, I tried running at 250 (I'm 6'4). Bad idea. Now at 208 and riding 3000 miles a year, I can run a base of 5 miles, no problem. But it took a long time for the strength to be there and the joints to be able to take it.

...and most importantly...watch the calorie intake. Simply put, eat fewer calories. The exercise is great for you, but it won't drive much weight loss. Cutting the volume of food will.